“I Accept Your Victory, You Admit Your Defeat”

THE AMERICAN NOTEBOOK

By Asif Jamal

Asif Jamal

“I accept your victory where you won, so you admit your defeat where you lost”, yes, that’s what I heard in a talk show of ARY News channel when a guest representing a political party said while answering a question from the host in reference to the recent elections in Pakistan.  I sort of agreed to it but later I pondered on the statement and realized that it is not that simple to just agree or disagree.

The punch behind the line was very evident, it is a vivid sarcasm, hidden behind that apparently polite statement but it is actually the rendition that affirms that there is something behind this sheer line.  Obviously, it is being addressed to the other group who is ostensibly not willing to admit the defeat due to some obvious reasons later implied as rigging but as one said, hero of a nation is an enemy of the other, so such is the case here, perhaps.  The one who has lost the race is blaming the other for being not fair.

As the elections results unfolds its mystery and ‘makes the one and breaks the other’, it enters into controversy on both fronts, the winner wins due to insurmountable riggings and the defeated candidate lost the game because of the same.  Unfortunately, the kind of society we belong to, does not seem to be settling down to any extend and seem compromising on issues.  Generally, if I can say it out loud that it is a society with no tolerance, of course, supported by the political parties for their own vested interest, but these innocent inhabitants are not trying to understand and evaluate the situation which is without a doubt not in their favor, at all.

In a society, each member has a role to play, and most important of all, is to respect others but before I talk further on it, let me explain what really it is.  The term “society” came from the Latin word societas, which in turn was derived from the noun socius (“comrade, friend, ally”; adjectival form socialis) used to describe a bond or interaction among parties that are friendly, or at least civil. Without an article, the term can refer to the entirety of humanity (also: “society in general”, “society at large”, etc.), although those who are unfriendly or uncivil to the remainder of society in this sense may be deemed to be “antisocial”. Adam Smith wrote that a society “may subsist among different men, as among different merchants, from a sense of its utility without any mutual love or affection, if only they refrain from doing injury to each other.”

Whereas, when it comes to political science perspective, societies may also be organized according to their political structure. In order of increasing size and complexity, there are bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and state societies. These structures may have varying degrees of political power, depending on the cultural, geographical, and historical environments that these societies must contend with. Thus, a more isolated society with the same level of technology and culture as other societies is more likely to survive than one in closer proximity to others that may encroach on their resources. A society that is unable to offer an effective response to other societies it competes with will usually be subsumed into the culture of the competing society that means, every member of the society plays a pivotal role in building a healthy nation.

However, a vibrant society such as Pakistan’s, lacks the basic sense of respect to each other at this moment.  A question is, if society by itself is innocent and gets manipulated by the political leaders; then again, it is at fault.  So, in order to understand the value of society, and respect, people of Pakistan needs to first focus on nothing but education and this is the only solution that can give a push to a declining nation, such as this, who is, now on the verge of reaction and allergic to anything and everything and this is something what Imran Khan and his party stressing about – education!  Unless and until, the education system is not improved, the blame game, nation being exploited, lacks behind in every walk of life comparing to other self-sufficient nations will be continued.

Even though it is the high time to worry about and focus on education but perhaps, people are now more interested to see who is going to be the next leader of the house; how is he going to run the system; if this new person in command will be able to solve their problems, bring peace and tranquility on the streets and improve infra-structure in the country.  Once the attention is out focused from the news and gossip, perhaps that will be the time when nation is ready to think better and move forward with developmental plans and for this, both, government and people have to work together.

Since the new leader of the house has been found through the recent elections but behind every success there is one crying factor, similar is the case at the moment in the country as well.  People are widely seen talking about rigging in the elections and this is something not new.  The riggings have been there ever since.  It’s just that due to media invasion in Pakistan, theses riggings have been, for the first time, highlighted and brought on camera and on print, so everyone found out about as to what and how it happened but the good part is, since bogus votes have always been a part of elections but since it was highlighted this time, somehow, I feel that the affectivity of fake voters will condense overtime and eventually – in times to come, it will be completely vanished but until then, we will get to hear statements being reiterated as you accept and you admit – that means, finger pointing to one another but there is a hope that is keeping this nation moving forward.  Let’s see how new government plans to reverse US Dollar to 60 from 96.

– To participate in this column or for comments and suggestions, you may reach the scribe via email at theamericannotebook@gmail.com & follow him on Twitter @AsifJamalNY

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